Luton target McGuinness left out of Cardiff squad against Burnley due to transfer speculation

Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut admitted that Luton Town target Mark McGuinness was left out of yesterday’s 5-0 thumping at the hands of Burnley due to ongoing uncertainty about his future.

The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Kenilworth Road during the transfer window, with the Hatters set to potentially break their transfer record to capture the former Arsenal centre half who has been capped at Republic of Ireland youth level. Prior to the game at Turf Moor, Bulut had stated that McGuinness would be in the squad ‘for now’ but he wasn’t listed on either the teamsheet or the substitutes bench against the Clarets.

Speaking after a game that saw former Luton loanee Ethan Horvath concede a calamitous own goal to set the hosts on their way to another huge victory, Bulut was asked about the absence of McGuinness, telling the BBC: I don’t want to talk too much about Mark McGuinness. Let’s see and wait what will happen. It is possible he was left out because of that (a possible transfer). I cannot tell you if we have accepted an offer or not. The board can tell you more things about that."

Hatters boss Rob Edwards has remained tight-lipped about the possible interest in the imposing centre half, as speaking on Friday, he stated: “Again, I’ve been asked before, I don’t want to talk about other clubs players, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. I just reiterate the fact that we’re working hard to try and bring in more than one as quickly as possible.”